A new species from a botanically little known region of Jalisco, Mexico, is described and illustrated. The morphology of Salvia cacomensis J. G. González, J. Morales et J. Rodríguez is related to that of the species of sections Briquetia Epling and Tubiflorae (Epling) Epling of subgenus Calosphace (Benth.) Benth. The new taxon is distinguished by the combination of its essentially glabrous surface, the 2flowered verticillasters, the pink to magenta corollas, and the particular dimensions of the floral bract, the calyx and the corolla.

Salvia L. includes at least 900 species worldwide, with main centers of diversity in SW Asia, Southern North, Central and South America (Harley et al., 2004); it is 1 of the 3 richest genera of vascular plants in Mexico with approximately 292 species in the country (Villaseñor, 2004), and at the same time one of the most poorly understood. In the last 3 decades, a new impulse in the study of Mexican sages has resulted in the description of several new taxa (Ramamoorthy, 1983, 1984a, 1984b, 1984c; Ramamoorthy and Lorence, 1987; Levin and Moran, 1989; Espejo and Ramamoorthy, 1993; Turner, 1995, 1996, Klitgaard, 2007; Turner, 2008a, 2008b, 2008c, 2009a, 2009b, 2010; Bedolla et al., 2011; MartínezGordillo and LoazadaPérez, 2011; Turner, 2011). However these efforts have been insufficient, because there are still new taxa to be described and some species that need to be reevaluated.

While conducting floristic research, Morales and Rodríguez discovered an interesting population of Salvia at Villas de Cacoma, Jalisco, Mexico, one of the least botanically explored areas of Western Mexico. We tried to identify the specimens using the publications of Epling and coworkers (1939, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1947, 1951; Epling and Mathias, 1957; Epling and Játiva, 1966), and those papers highlighted in the last paragraph, where new taxa were recently described. We have examined, since September 2008 to September 2011, Salvia collections from large and relatively small Mexican herbaria, according to the number of specimens that they harbor. In small herbaria (CIIDIR, CHAPA, CREG, GUADA, HEM, HUMO, OAX, SERO, USON, UAGC, ZEA, XALU), we examined the entire collections of Salvia including those specimens not yet identified. In large herbaria (ENCB, IEB, MEXU, XAL), we restricted the revision to specimens collected in Jalisco, those belonging to the sections related to the Salvia found at Cacoma (Briquetia Epling and Tubiflorae (Epling) Epling), and nonidentified specimens. In both cases the specimens examined were photographed. All Salvia specimens from IBUG herbarium were also examined. We analyzed the type specimens of the species in sections Briquetia and Tubiflorae through a collection of digital photographs obtained from the web pages of the following herbaria: K, LD, LL, MA, MICH, MO, NY, UC, US, WU. As a result of the revision of literature and examination of herbarium specimens and photographs, the finding of Morales and Rodríguez could not be referred to any known species of Salvia. Here, we describe it as a new taxon related to the sections Briquetia and Tubiflorae of subgenus Calosphace (Benth.) Benth.

Distribution, habitat and phenology. Salvia cacomensis is, to our knowledge, an endemic species restricted to 1 locality on the Pacific slope of the Sierra de Cacoma, Jalisco, Mexico. It is locally scarce. It inhabits montane cloud forest with Quercus L., Sebastiana Spreng., Ficus L., Clusia L. and Fuchsia L., at 1 3001 400 m. It flowers and fructifies in August ( September).

Etymology. The specific epithet of this taxon refers to the area that embraces its distribution, the Sierra de Cacoma, Jalisco, Mexico.

Remarks. There are 2 Salvia subgenus Calosphace sections with species morphologically similar to the new taxon: Tubiflorae and Briquetia. S. cacomensis fits well with every character of the species in Tubiflorae: shrubs or subshrubs, blades ovate, acuminate at the apex, rounded to attenuated at the base, (2)6 to 12flowered verticillasters, bracts deciduous, 3veined upper lips of the calyces or sometimes 5veined, pink to magenta corollas, epapillate corolla tubes, upper corolla lips longer than the lower ones, connectives entire or toothed and styles pilose. Among the species of Tubiflorae, S. tubifera Cav. and S. venulosa Epling are the morphologically closest relatives. The first one differs in having ovate, rounded at the base blades, (0.5)13.3(7) cm long petioles, lower blade surface slightly white pubescent, 6 to 8flowered verticillasters, 3.55(8) mm long pedicels, short glandularcapitate hairs on the calyces, 2425 mm long corolla tubes, (1.8)22.6 cm long connectives, 1.81.9 mm long nutlets (table 1). The second one can be distinguished by its 510 mm long petioles, lower blade surface with purplish reticulate prominent veins, 26flowered verticillasters, 23 × 22.5 mm floral bracts, 45 mm long pedicels, 5veined upper lip of the calyces and those covered with capitate glandular hairs (table 1). All characters in the species of Briquetia also matches with the characters in the new taxon: thick herbs, blades acuminate at the apex and rounded to attenuate at the base (sometimes truncate or cordate), 3veined upper lips of the calyces, dark blue corollas, corolla tubes ventricose, invaginated at the base, and internally epapillate, connectives entire or toothed, and styles pilose; excluding the color of the corolla (purple vs. magenta or pink magenta in S. cacomensis) and the invagination at the base of the corolla tube. However, there is a member of Briquetia which does not present invaginated corollas at the base, S. ecuadorensis Briq; and other one, which very rarely can exhibit magenta corollas, S. mexicana L. S. cacomensis differs from the rest of the species of section Briquetia because of its 2flowered verticillasters (vs. 312flowered), magenta or magentapink corollas (vs. purple ones), the length of the calyx (713 mm vs. (7)1215 m) and corolla tube (1517 mm vs. (11)1525 mm).

Salvia cacomensis can be distinguished by the combination of its 0.51 cm long petioles, ellipticlanceolate to lanceolate blades with short to short cuneate, sometimes oblique bases and acuminate to longacuminate apices, 2flowered verticillasters, 7.59 mm long floral bracts, calyces without glandular capitate hairs, 3veined upper lips of the calyces, pink to magenta corollas, with the lower lip as long as the upper one and straight.

In the region where S. cacomensis inhabits (Jalisco), only 2 members of section Tubiflorae (S. pringlei B. L. Rob. and Greenm. and S. tubifera), and only 1 of section Briquetia (S. mexicana) are found. None of them share habitat with S. cacomensis. Salvia pringlei inhabits tropical lowlands, from 400920 m altitude. It can be found near the coast of Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa, and in an area of the Barranca del Río Santiago in Jalisco and Nayarit. Salvia tubifera has an affinity for a colder and wetter habitat. It grows in high montane cloud forests mainly from 2 4002 800 m altitude (Table 1). In Jalisco, this species is only known from Cerro Viejo, North of Lago de Chapala. In contrast, S. mexicana can occupy oak, pineoak, montane cloud and even tropical deciduous forests, from 8502 900 m altitude in a wide area of Jalisco. Salvia venulosa, which is the morphologically most similar species to S. cacomensis inhabits also cloud forests and exhibits a narrow geographical range; however, this species grows in Colombia at a distance of 3 500 km from Cacoma, Jalisco (Table 1).

As we can conclude from the above mentioned, the affinity between S. cacomensis with either of the 2 sections alluded is not clear. Therefore, we prefer not to assign it to either of them, and wait for new evidence and a new more natural classification than that proposed by Epling and coworkers (1939, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1947, 1951; Epling and Mathias, 1957; Epling and Játiva, 1966).

We thank the curators and colleagues from the following herbaria, who kindly gave permission and helped us with the examination of herbarium specimens: CHAPA, CIIDIR, CREG, ENCB, GUADA, HUMO, IBUG, IEB, HEM, MEXU, OAX, SERO, UAGC, USON, XAL, XALU, and ZEA. We also thank the authorities of K, LD, LL, MA, MICH, MO, NY, UC, US, and WU, who provided online photographs of type specimens harbored in their collections through their herbaria web pages. Robin Middleton reviewed and helped to improve the writing and spelling of the document. The latin specialist, Juan Acosta Aguilar, improved our diagnoses. Economic support was provided by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) and the Universidad de Guadalajara.